$1.79's Mentor Group FULL of fast people (Page 10)

Had to get a quick "THANK-YOU" out for this one.  Jessica, really appreciate the advice. Had side stitches again during a run last week and used this tip...worked perfectly.  Also have to add a bit of side color to the thread.  After my freezing, no wetsuit, 60 degree swim in the Barcelona harbor, I was looking out over the water the following morning.  Saw "things with fins" feeding along the shoreline.  Needless to say, that was the end of any swim workouts for the week.  I'm sure it was dolphins... sure it was dolphins...yes, had to be dolphins...really. So managed to squeeze in a few short runs.  Great path along the beach to run with amazing views.  Being southern europe, the topless sunbathers were the norm but the nude volleyball and paddleball tourneys were a sight!  Andrew, if you did want to add a nude 5k to your blog, B'lona is your city.

Hope everyone is having a nice Memorial Day weekend! 

On the next flight!  Sounds like my type of city.

Hope everyone had a good, long weekend of fun (and training). 

I got in some decent time in the saddle.  It is still really odd for me to only ride 2 hours after two straight years of Ironman training.  On the weekends you would just dread riding 4-5 hours.  Now I just roll out of bed when I want.  Of course the intensity is much tougher which leaves me sore vs. fatigued. 

I also did a 10k yesterday just for fun.  Coach wouldn't let me run it all out so we focused on pacing.  It resulted in a sub-par performance but somehow netted me 3rd in my age group, lol.  I will take it. 

How was your weekend?

Had a pretty good weekend overall.  Lots of pool time that did not include a single lap, but rather a lounge chair and mojitos.  Not great for the training plan, but nice.  Did however manage some training.  Went to my kettlebell gym on Saturday.  Hadn't been there in ages.  Was just me and the instructor/owner (guess everyone else was at the shore - that's what we call the beach in Jersey) and she thrashed my legs for almost an hour as punishment for prolonged absence.  She then decided we hadn't had enough and since I had the bike on the rack we went and did the "hill-kill" ride.  And this is supposed to motivate me to come back?  She knows me well.  Will be there next week for sure.  Had a planned bike/run brick on Sunday, which went ok even after the leg thrashing the day prior.  Monday managed a slow, short run.

Bike question:  I have a long way to go before a tri-bike makes any sense, but am wondering about putting aero-bars on my road bike.  I ride a Specialized Roubaix Comp, which is a bit more of an upright ride than many road bikes.  Since I ride mostly in rolling hills, I haven't felt the need for aero-bars, but most of my races this year are at the shore where it is flat, flat, flat. Pro's/cons?

Hi everyone.  Had a decent weekend.  Lots of driving (visited both mom and dad, plus a cousin for her graduation party).  1000yds TT swim on Sat, 3.4mi run with dad Sunday morning (he felt the need to get out there and run at 6am Eastern.  would have been nice to get some sleep that night).  And a short bike in before the weather got nasty on Monday.  Watched the Quad Cities Criterium race on Monday evening, which was pretty entertaining.

My workout week, however, is not going too well.  Decided I needed to kick the redbull habit, so I'm dealing with some caffeine withdrawal issues right now.  Excuse me if I get extra whiney. 

I have a question:

In my run workout today I was to do a long run followed by '5 X 20 second strides back to back' ....  how much recovery should I have between strides? 
Also my swim workout was :
400 RPE 4, 4 X 100 RPE 7-8, 300 RPE 4, 3 X 100 RPE 7-8......   there is no recovery/rest interval specified.. how do  I know how long to take between each interval? (especially the hard ones).

My weekend involved working nights so was not at all exciting (or productive).   Next weekend will consist of working 12 hour days so again I won't get much done.  I'll have to work hard during the week to get most of the training in.

Good luck on the redbull withdrawel.  Caffeine and sugar - very tough.  I swore off diet coke two years ago.  Had a six-pack a day habit...all before noon.  It was ugly, but worth it.  I was a real b*^&h...people at work were begging me to go back.  My friends & family just found ways to avoid me.  It does get better though. If whining helps, go for it.  Feel free to PM me with non-postable complaints.  hang in there.

I remembered how I did it the last time.  Cup of green tea in the morning and an excedrine when the headache starts.  Luckily it was always the sugar free Redbull, so at least I didn't pick up a ton of weight from it too.  The complaints will be kept to a minimum now.

Nice to meet you, Andrew.  I feel that I too am going to have a relapse in about two weeks (but it's only a swim and run).     

My workouts were pretty minimal this week  I ran 3 miles on two different days and rode to the park with my 2 kids in the trailer. 

Thanks for the explanation, Andrew.  It makes more sense.  Now I just need a little more clarification.  Does 300 mean 300 yards?  5x200 means???? 
                                  Warmup:  300 easy, (rpe 3, t-pace + 10 seconds)
                                  Main set:  5x200, hard ( rpe 8, t-pace)
                                 10x50; odds moderate (rpe 5, t-pace + 5), evens hard (rpe 8, t-pace)


                                 Based on my 6/17 test, I would swim the 5x200 at a 1.37/100 pace.  For the moderate sets,
                                 it would be a 1.42/100 pace.  Think of it as sprints in the water. 

Could you clarify the above a little more, too?

The 300 does mean 300 yards.
5x200 means swimming 5 sets of 200 yards

Thanks.  So by doing 5 sets of 200, do you check your times after each set or just mow right through it?  I feel silly knowing so little, but I would rather know. 

I would usually take a bit of rest, save my time in my watch, sip of water and then back into it.

So I've got some good news/bad news.  Good news is that I just had another 40+ hours per week open up in my schedule.  Bad news is I have to find another way to get a paycheck. 
Hope you all have good weekends.

Dan, really sorry to hear this.  It is happening to so many people right now.  When will this damn recession end?  I hope that this opens new doors for you and that you ultimately look back and see it as a positive event in your life.  Good luck and let your training keep you focused and positive. 

Sorry to hear the bad news... my hubby lost his job last June and we are really feeling it now.  It's the main reason I'm only doing one race this season.
As far as the good news... just be careful not to use the extra time to overtrain especially since you are going to be feeling some stress... but it's nice to choose to do a midday workout if you feel like it.

Sorry to hear this!  What type of work do you do?  Hopefully you won't have too much trouble finding something new.  Is this effecting the redbull layoff?

Thanks.  I was a sales rep selling tires and car parts for a distributor.  I shouldn't have too much trouble finding something, I hope.  And nope, this has only reinforced the redbull stoppage...I can't really see spending $14+/week on something that isn't good for me when I have no money anyway.

I wouldn't think too hard about the pros/cons of aero bars.  Most likely put aero bars on your bike will make you more comfortable and puts you in a slightly more aero position.  However, don't assume that it will instantly make you faster.  My only concern is that if you were properly fit for your bike in a road position, then putting aero bars on the bike changes your position and it might be beneficial to be refit. 

Keep in mind that you can ride a road bike in the drops (the part of the base bar that curls undernearth).  If you watch the the pros, they are VERY aero on a road bike.  The good thing about aerobars is that you can buy a cheap pair and experiment. 

For the run, I would do 20s strides and then rest for 40s.  And by rest, I mean continue at your normal pace.  Strides should equate to picking up the pace, not quite sprinting. 

As for swimming, I would rest about 20-30s between the 100 sets and 30" between the longer distances.  The key is to not let your heartrate drop back down.  By keeping it elevated it makes you work harder and essentially simulate a race.  For instance, in Ironman training, I will only swim 4400 a few times.  However, I will do a LOT of work around 3-3500 with a slightly higher intensity to simulate the longer distance. 

Take a 20-30 second break between the sets.   (see comments above)

Remember, there are NO silly questions.  This is why BT created mentor threads...so that everyone of ALL levels can progress and understand things is the sport better. 

Sorry to hear the news Dan.  Hopefully one day you will look back at this time in your life and it will have a more positive connotation than it does now. 

And good for you on kicking the red bull habit.  Do be aware of substituting your cravings with something else.  As you literally go though withdrawals, you will likely pick up other habits such as a candy or snacking. 

As you can tell, I am back from vacation.  Tri Take Me Away and I went down to south Florida for 5 days to see Chippy and Stake (other BT'ers) get married.  Unfortunately, the weather was crappy everyday.  I didn't really train much and instead tried hard to enjoy my first vacation in about 4 years.  All in all it was a good trip.  Hopefully, I answered everyone's questions.  If I missed something, please repost it. 

This week looks crazy busy for me.  Coach is really ramping up the training schedule.  I race a sprint on Saturday and may race another sprint on Sunday for fun.  Otherwise, just looks like a high volume week for me. 

Thanks Andrew.. that's what I have been doing.

I spent all of last season using clip on aero bars and was really glad that I had added them to my bike.  When I got them I had my bike refit and it completely changed my set up.  Ended up having to get a new seat post as the one that was on my road bike was not adjustable enough to put me in the right position.  I have friends that put the aero bars on w/out refitting and ended up with problems so as refitting is a good idea.

And btw, GA is very hilly and we use our aero bars all the time on the hills.  I think I had a fitter one time tell me that unless you are going less than 12 or 13 mph aero is more efficient.  At the lower speeds I always sit up as I get more power getting up the hills.

Welcome home - sorry the weather was crappy - we actually had GREAT weather after 2-3 weeks of rain - sorry you missed it!

What sprint are you doing?  High Falls?  If so, me too.